Lamp-burner and wick therefor



(Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. PAINTEB..

K LAMP BURNER AND WICK THBRBPOR. N0. 247.270- Patented Sept. 20,1881.

FMS.

ia D@ G.v :'n.-

W1TNESSES, INVENTOR Mn M/I'M WMM@ 35m@ ATTORNEY.

N Perma. nmummmf. www0... u. c

(Model.)

INV ENTOR `ATTORN EY.

N. PETERS, Phulu-Liwugmpher, washington, D. c.

WITNESSES.

UNITED STATES` PATENT OFFICE.,

WILLIAM PAINTER, 0E BALTIMORE', MARYLAND.

LAMP-BURNER AND WICK THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,270, dated September 20, 1881.

Application led May 9, 1881. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I WILLIAM PAINTER, ofy Baltimore city, State ot' Maryland, have in,- vented certain new and useful Improvements in Lamp-Burners and Wicks Therefor, and I hereby declare the same to be fully, clearly, and exactly described as follows, reference bei ing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a central vertical sectional view ofthe device. Fig.2 is a horizontal sectional View of tl1ewicktube,its inclosing-sleeve, and the partition-plate. Fig is aplan View ofthe device for joining the ends of the wick. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the wick-tube, sleeve, and hook. Fig.5 is a similar view at rightangles to the last. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the partition-plate; and Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10 are central sectional views of modified forms ofthe device.

Myinvention embraces a new form ofburner for lamps and a new mode of operating the wick. Itis designed to overcome the objectionsincidentto burners of ordinaryhinds, and attains valuable results not hitherto possible.

In all the common or heretofore known forms of burners the charring ofthe wick necessitated its constant trimming, the burner would smoke when the wick was turned too high,the flame was generally very uneven, and the chimney, due to unequal heating, was apt to crack.

I have produced a lamp-burner and a wick especially adapted thereto whereby these and other well-known difficulties are wholly overcome and further advantages secured without materially increasing the cost.

In the burner about to be describedthewick requires no trimming, is utilized throughoutits entire length, is automatically moved Iforward, exposing a new burning-point everytime the burner is lighted, does not become shorter by use, and a brilliant symmetrical ame of maximum size is always attainable without the exercise of care orskill. Furthermore, the burner is of such construction that smokingis impossible, as the wicl cannot be raised too high, and in the necessaryforward movement of the wick it is drawn, not pnshed,through the wiektube, .obviating the possibility ot' jamming. The Wick, moreover, cannot be drawn down into the lamp, andliability of explosion is thereby diminished. As incident to these advantages the labor of cleaning the burner and chimneyis greatlylessened,the chimney is less liable to be broken by u neven heating, the dame remains full and brilliant as long as the oil lasts, the combustion is more perfect than in the ordinary burner, and there is littleor no offensive odor.

My invention consists, broadly, first, in a burner having a wick-tube adapted to receive a double thickness of the wick and projectit, in the form of an abruptloop, to a fixed and defininite maximum distance above the tube, the said loop being the burning-point, in combination with a wickmoving mechanism; second, in a burner, having awick-tube provided .with a partition-plate for sustaining the loop vof the wick, in combination with means for changing the burning-point; third, in a burner having a wick-tube adapted, as described, to project and sustain an abrupt loopofthe wick, and provided with. mechanismV whereby the wick is automatically moved forward, present( ing a new burning-point everytime theburner is lighted; fourth,in so .constructing the wicktube and arranging the wick as to aford continually an ample supply ot' oil to the ame through bothV branchesot' the wield/whereby the destructive burningof the wickis prevent ed ifth, in certain speciticfeaturesof construction; and, siXth,in an endless lateral-burning wick or its equivalent,as herein described, adapted to the said burner. x f

In the drawings, A is thelcone, B: the airdistributing plate, and C the screw-piece for attachment to the lamp, all ot' (ordinary form.

E is the wick-tube, having :lateral .grooves e, in which slide the projections 0 of the partition-plate F. The grooves terminate near the bottom of the wick-tube, as showninfli/vig. 5, forming shoulders upon which the projections o rest, determining the distance towhich the partition-plate, and consequentlythev loop of the wick, shall project above the tube'. The topof the partition-plate F is folded over, asat f, forming a smooth edge, over which the'wick is drawn. .x-r`

D is a sleeve inclosing and sliding uponthe wiektube, and provided with grooves d, which register with similar ones on the tube E. To

the sleeve D is pivoted through its lateral arms n a hook, G, which is provided with spurs m, that enter slotsb in the wick-tube and engage with the wick. The hook G is curved in the are of a circle about its pivots, and has a number of perforations, g, with which the teeth of the wheel H engage.

The wick I may be woven in the form of an endless band, or else may be, and by preference is, formed from a piece of ordinary wicking by uniting the ends in any convenient way. A simple device for this purpose is shown in Fig. 3, and consists of a narrow plate, J, of sheet metal, having tangs j. The ends'of the wick are made to slightly overlap, as shown at i, Fig. l. The tangs are bent atlright .angies to the plate J, thrust through the parts of the wick on either sideof the joint, and bent over or clinchedl on the opposite side. The end tan gs are folded over the edges of the wick. The wicktubeE is extended upward at either side, forming semicircular ears l l, that inclose and support the sides of the projecting. loop and exclude the flame from the edges of the wick.

In operation the wick is inserted by thrusting a loop of the same downward through the wick-tube by means of the plate F, which is made long enough to cause the wick to pass out at the bottom of the tube, when the projecting part may be drawn down until the wick lies closely over the folded end of the plate and between the ears Z Z, as shown in Figs. l and 4. Upon turning the wheel H in the direction of the arrow by means of an ordinary button on its shaft, the hook Gis tilted up'- ward until the spurs m are withdrawn from the wick and its upper edge comes in contact with the sleeve D. Further upward rotation of the hook being thus prevented,a continued Inovementofthe wheel causes the sleeve D to slide upward, inclosing the projectingloopof the wick, regulating the flame or diminishing it to such a degree as to be readily extinguished. When the burner is to be relighted the wheel H is turned in the opposite direction, tilting the hook downward, and causing its spurs to enter the slots and engage with the wick. When the spurs have entered the wick as far as they will go further motion of the wheel causes the hook, and with it the sleeve, to descend,draw ing the wick over the top of theplateF,bring ing a new burning-point into position, and at the same time vexposing the wick for relight# ing. In this way the wick is gradually and automatically fed around, never burning twice inthe same place until it has completed its circuit.

as the maximum exposed or burning portion of the wick is determined and cannot be exceeded, the burner will not smoke, and, as the portion referred to isalways of uniform shape, the 'ame is necessarily symmetrical in form.

One of the salient features of my invention consists in the lateral-burning wick fed by the immersion of both its branches in the oil, the tube being arranged to conduct them into the reservoir; 'A most important result is thereby attained. The oil is fed to the flame from both directions, and so liberally that the wick is kept comparatively cool and its burning almost entirely prevented. Ihis result is condueed to by the constant contact of the burning portion of the wick with the rounded end ot' the partition-plate, which carries ott' a considerable portion ot' the heat, and the burner is so constructed that the iiame may be regulated and the wick fed forward without at any time vseparating it from the partition-plate or loopsustaining device. The wick is made to pro- `ject from the inclosing-tube in the form of an abrupt loop or curve, in order to expose a substantially vertical l burning-surface on either side-a feature of great importance, as it permits an upward vertical draft to the flame much in the same manner as in an ordinary end-burning wick.

The limiting of the exposed or burning portion of the wick secures a peculiar advantage over all forms of burners heretofore known, in that the wick can at once be exposed to its maximum on lighting the burner, and this exposure, while being the maximum, is not sufficient to permit it to smoke, whereby no necessity arises for regulating the iame after light-A ing, as is the case with ordinary burners.

As the result of the means I employ for preventing the destructive burning of the wick, it is found, in practice, to be charred to such a slight degree that it may be fed around and be used a number of times,if desired, and when it finally becomes somewhat roughened, due to the burning through of the outermost strands, it may be reversed, so as to bring its other face outward and its use continued.

An especial advantage attending the use of an endless lateral-burning wick is that it does not become shortened by use, and hence always reaches to the bottom of the reservoir. Even when the oil is quite low a iiame of large size is produced, resulting from the ample supply of oil by both branches ofthe wick.

While the foregoing is a description of what I consider the best form of burners and wick embodying my invention, several modi tications of them differing from those already described in structure but not in principle may well be mentioned.

Instead of the removable,partition-plate F, I may employ a fixed or removable pin connecting the ears Z l for sustaining the loop, or in some cases the partition-plate may be made integral with the wick-tube, or the latter may consist of two tubes placed nearly or quite in contact. The removable partition-plate may be inserted from below instead of from above; but the construction and arrangement first de IOO IIO

scribed are obviously preferable, by reason of their simplicity and the facility afforded for inserting the wick.

One of the. important features of my inventionrconsisting, as it does, in feeding the exposed portion of a lateral-burning wick bythe capillarity of both its branches, it is clear that the ends of the wick need not of necessity be joined5nor need both ends or either ot' them be actually immersed in the oil, as a permanent wick attached to the lower end ot the wicktube may be used,for example, to feed the movable wick. Such a modification is shown in Fig. 7, the permanent wick I being attached to the lower end of the wick-tube, the doubled or looped wick having its ends disconnected.

As a substitue for the hook G for feeding the wick, I may use the device shown in Fig. 8, in which p are tangs, either fixed or pivoted tothe outer sleeve, which in this case is stationary, and project inward a-nd downward through slots in the inner movable wick-tube,

E. This latter tube is raised or lowered to regulate or extinguish the flame by the wheel P, its downward movement being limited by a suitable stop. As the wick-tube is raised, and with it the wick, in lighting the burner, the tangs catch in the wick and cause it to be drawn over the end of the partition-plate, as' will be readily understood.

Another form of automatic-feeding device is shown in Fig. 10, depending for its operation upon the fact that the chimney is necessarily removed to light the burner. In this case a lever, s, works through a slot in the plate B, and is pivoted at t to a spring, S, attached to the plate B on the opposite side of the wicktube. On the lower end of the lever are spurs s', that engage with the wick and draw it down. When the chimney is :removed to light the burner the spring S lifts this lever into the position shown in .the drawings, and when the chimney is replaced the lever at rst tilts downward, causing its spurs to engage with thewick. As the chimney is pressed down into position on the plate B the lever` moves bodily downward, thus giving a forward movement to the wick. In this form of burner the Haine is regulated independently by a sliding sleeve and ratchet-wheel, as shown.

Other forms of devices for moving the wick forward automatically, in the sense that they operate incidentally upon the performance of some other act of comparatively frequent occurrence in the use of the burner, will suggest themselves. For instance, the act of screwing the burner upon the lamp may be made, through suitable mechanism, to move forward the wick and bring a new burning-point into position. I find, however, that the conjoint action of the flame-regulating and wick-moving devices as first Vdescribed gives the best results.

Now, while it is desirable that the construction and operation ofthe burner be such that thewick is automatically moved forward durf ing some operation preliminary to lighting it,

in order to prevent the wick from being burned too long in one position, and thus destroyed from neglect, it is clear that the wick-moving mechanism maybe independent, instead of automatic, the burner still retaining most of the essential features of the invention. One form of device of this kind is shown in Fig. 9, in which Q is a wheel for drawing4 the wick over the partition -plate to expose a new burningpoint, and P another Wheel for operating the sliding sleeve D to regulate the ilame. This form of the device, however, while embodying many of the features of my invention, does not, as shown, retain one important one-namely, that of determining the distance to which the wick may possibly be raised, as by the reverse rotationof the wheel Q the loop Vof the wick would be lifted. It is obvious however, that means for preventing such reverse rotation might be added, such as a pawl engaging with the teeth of the wheel.

Other forms of devices, wherein the forward movement of the wick depends upon volition to that end on the part ofthe user of the burner, will suggest themselves. I may also say that other forms of wick-moving and flame-regulating devices are obvious, and that the details of construction and arrangement may be much varied while still conforming to the essential features; but the form tirstshown and described is considered the best embodiment of the invention. I therefore desire it to be understood that I do not contine myself to any precise construction or arrangementof the various parts ofthe burner. v

I am aware of British Patent No. 2,523 of 1861, and without going to the extent of saying that the device therein shown is wholly in operative and impracticable, I will say that it is open to the very objections that it is the design of my invention to obviate. The patent referred to shows a wick arranged to burn on its side. The wick-tube is bent in the f'orm of an arc, with the upper portion out away toeX- pose the wick. As a result, the walls of the wick-tube contiguous to the burning-point of the wick on either side are not substantially parallel, as in my burner, and the currents of air meet the Haine at an angle instead of vertically; but a single branch of the wick is immersible in the oil, and 'it is therefore liable to be quickly burned in two-a fact which'the inventor evidently recognized, as he describes his wick as provided with a woven-wire backing to prevent its complete severance. More over, in regulating the dame the burning portion of the wick is raised and separated from the supporting parts, and is thus still more exposed to destructive burning. The exposure of the wick is not limited; hence the burner would as readily smoke as an ordinary one, and the wick constantly grows shorter by use. In addition to these grave defects, it lacks the important feature of the automatic feeding of the wick, and obviously many others of value IOS IZO

characterizing my invention. In a word, the burner shown in the British patent referred to has nothingin common with my invention save the single feature of burning thc wick on its side, and that I do not claim.

I am also aware that pieces of asbestus or similar material have been attached to the ends of ordinary wicks by means ot' tanged clasps; but the clasps were of such proportions and construction as to render them wholly unapplicable to the use to which I apply the clasps hereinbefore described. I do not,how ever, claim, broadly, a tanged clasp; but

What Ido claim as structurally and functionably new is- 1. In a lamp-burner, a wick-tube adapted, as described, to receive a double thickness of wick and project it in the form of an abrupt loop, and provided with means for moving the wick and for sustaining the said loop at a lixed and definite maximum distance above the tube, whereby the llame is limited and smoking prevented, substantially as described.

2. In a lamp-burner, a wick-tube adapted to receive a double wick and having sides substantially parallel throughout their length, whereby the exposed loop or burning-point is caused to proj ect abruptly from the inclosingtube, so that the flame shall receive the aircnrrents in a substantially vertical direction, in combination with mechanism for moving the wick, substantially as described.

3. In a lamp-burner, a wick-tube adapted to receive a loop or double thickness ot' wick, in combination with mechanism for automatically moving the wick forward, whereby a new burning-pointis brough tinto position, substantially as described.

et. In a lamp-burne1,.the combination of a wick-inclosing tube or tubes, a doubled or looped wick, a wick-supporting device, and mechanism for automatically moving the wick forward, whereby a new burning point is brought into position, substantially as described.

5. In a lamp-burner adapted lfor a Vlateralburning wick, the combination of the flameregulating device with the wick-moving mechanism, whereby the movement of the flameregulating device for alternately extinguishing and relighting the burner shall automatically cause a forward movement of the wick, substantially as described.

6. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, the sliding sleeve for regulating the dame, carrying the wick-moving mechanism, the parts being so arranged that the sleeve may be moved upward to reduce or extinguish. the flame, and in its descent move the wick forward, bringing a new burning-point into position, and at the same time exposing the wick for lighting, substantially as described.

7. In abnrner adapted for a lateral-burning wick, a wick-moving mechanism arranged intermediate the propelling-shaft and flame-regnlatin g device, whereby the engagement ordis ith respect .to the loop-sustaining de- 9. Ina lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, the combination of the partitionplate forsustaining the loop in a ixed relation to the inclosing-tube, and the sliding sleeve for regulating the flame, the partsbeing so arranged that the exposed or burning portion of the wick shall be limited in extent to prevent smoking, and the regulation or extinguish ment of theliame effected, substantially as described.

10. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, a tube or tubes arranged to conduct both branches of the doubled wick through the base of the burner and into the oil-reservoir, in combination with means for changing the burning-point of the wick, whereby both ot' its branches may be utilized in conducting oil to the ilame and the wickburned progressively, substantially as described.

l1. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, a wick-tube having sides substantiallyparallel throughout their length, a partition-plate, and mechanism for drawing the wick longitudinally overthe end of said plate, substantially as described.

l2. In a lamp-burncr adapted for a lateralburning wick, a single wick inclosing tube having sides substantially parallel throughout their entire length, in combination with a partition plate or loop sustaining device, and means for automatically moving the wick, substantially as described.

13. In a lampburner adapted for a lateralburning wick, the combination of the Wicktube, wick-moving mechanism, and removable 'partition-plate, substantially as described.

14. In a lamp-burner 'adapted for a lateralburning wick, a removable partition-plate and means for sustaining it centrally in the wicktube, substantially as described.

15. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, a wick tube or tubes inclosing a double thickness ot' wick and a sliding sleeve arranged to surround the projecting loop for regulatii1gtheliame,substantiallyas described.

16. In a lamp-burner adapted fora lateralburning wick, the sliding` sleeve carrying the pivoted hook, actuated by the ratchet-wheel, substantially as described.

17. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, the combination ofthe wick-inclosing and loop-sustaining parts with recipro` cat-ing wick-moving mechanism, wherebya lim- IOO IOS

ited forward movement of the wick is e'ected, substantially as described.

18. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburnin g wick, a wick-tube arranged to conduct both branches of the wick into the oil-reservoir, and mechanism adapted to feed the wick in one direction only, whereby a new burningpoint is brought into position and excessive charrin g prevented, substantially as described.

19. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, the combination of the wicktube, the inclosing-sleeve7 and removable partition-plate, substantially as described.

20. In a lamp-burner adapted for alateralburning wick, the wick tube having sides substantially parallel throughout their entireV length and side ears projecting above the end of said tube for sustaining and protecting the edges of the wick at the loop or burning-point, substantially as described.

21. In a lamp-burner adapted for a lateralburning wick, wick-moving mechanism arranged to be operated by the lamp-chimney, whereby the act of placing the chimney on the burner shall cause the forward movement of the wick, substantially as described.

22. In alamp-burner, an endless lateral-burning wick, in combination with means for projecting a loop of the same from its inclosingtnbe and for changing the position of said loop, substantially as described.

23. An endless lateral-burnin g wick consisting of a strip of ordinary wicking having its ends lapped and joined by means of a tanged clasp, substantially as described.

WILLIAM PAINTER.

Witnesses:

R. D. WILLIAMS, JNO. T. MADDOX. 

